User manual ALESIS DMPRO

[. . . ] REFERENCE MANUAL Alesis DM Pro Reference Manual by Erik Norlander TM Additional documentation by Randy Lee © Copyright 1998, Alesis Studio Electronics, Inc. "DM Pro", "DM5", "QS8" and "QS6. 1" are trademarks of Alesis Studio Electronics, Inc. Selected material for this manual was imported from the Alesis DM5 and QS8 Reference Manuals by Geoff Ryle. TM TM Additional material imported from the QS6. 1 Reference Manual by Connor Freff Cochran and Randy Lee. TM The illustration on page 50 is from EmagicTM Sound DiverTM, © Michael Haydn. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thanks to Robert Rampley, David Bryce, Connor Freff Cochran, Taiho Yamada, Mike Peake, Mark McCrite, Ed Burzycki, Chris Asmus, David Cadmus, Julie Yarbrough, David Seaton, Jim Mack, Danna Teal, David Bertovic, Geoff Ryle, Grant Kraus, Marcus Ryle and Michel Doidic for invaluable information, support and guidance. ALESIS CONTACT INFORMATION Alesis Studio Electronics, Inc. 1633 26th Street Santa Monica, CA 90404 USA Telephone: E-Mail: Website: 800-5-ALESIS (800-525-3747) alecorp@alesis1. usa. com http://www. alesis. com Contents Important Safety Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [. . . ] Changing this Value will alter the Pitch of the Sound in 100 cent steps (a musical half step). The maximum range of this Parameter is up or down 24 half steps, or two octaves in either direction. Negative Pitch Values (downward Pitch shifts) are indicated by a "-" before the Value. Using this Drum Edit Parameter combined with the Drum Tune Function, you can shift a sample across a range of eight octaves. To change the Pitch of a Sound by a Semitone or Semitones, move the cursor beneath the Parameter Value and then turn the Value encoder to tune the Sound to the desired Semitone: SND1:PITCH P1 Semitone: 12 P2 The DETUNE Parameter This Parameter is the "fine" Pitch adjuster in the Pitch Function. Changing this Value will alter the Pitch of the Sound in 1/2 cent steps (100 cents = 1 musical half step). The maximum range of this Parameter is up or down one quarter tone, or "half of a half step", in either direction. As with the Semitone Parameter, negative Pitch Values (downward Pitch shifts) are indicated by a minus sign (-) before the Value. To change the Pitch of a Sound in 1/2 cent increments, move the cursor beneath the Parameter Value and then turn the Value encoder to Detune or "fine tune" the Sound to taste: SND1:PITCH Detune: -3 0 P2 In the above example, the Sound is Detuned flat (down) by 15 cents. P3 The PITCH WHEEL TO PITCH Parameter This Parameter sets the DM Pro to allow the Pitch Bend Wheel on a MIDI controller to modify the Pitch of an individual Sound. The Value is adjusted in increments of a musical half step (100 cents) with a maximum range of one octave in either direction. 82 DM PRO REFERENCE MANUAL Programming Drums Since the MIDI specification calls for a Pitch Bend Wheel to bend the Pitch of a Sound both up and down, this Parameter is an absolute value only ­ it is neither positive nor negative, merely a range amount. To set the range that a MIDI Pitch Bend Wheel can alter the Pitch of a Sound, move the cursor beneath the Parameter Value and then turn the Value encoder to set the semitone range: SND1:PITCH P3 PWHL>PITCH: 0 2 This Parameter may seem silly on a drum module, but do not overlook the usefulness of pitch bending hand drums, especially ethnic drums that are designed to change pitch such as udus or talking drums. P4 The PITCH ENVELOPE TO PITCH Parameter This Parameter determines how much the Pitch Envelope Function will affect the Pitch of the current Sound. The default value is 00, meaning that the Pitch Envelope has no effect on the Sound's Pitch. However, certain hand drums and even toms can benefit from some "automatic pitch bend" which can be programmed with the Pitch Envelope. To set the amount that you wish the Pitch Envelope to modify the current Sound's Pitch, move the cursor beneath the Parameter Value and then turn the Value encoder: SND1:PITCH P4 PENV>PITCH: 5 0 Note that negative Values will "invert" the Envelope, allowing you to create very esoteric pitch effects with the Pitch Envelope. Remember that "inverting" is not the same as "reversing" ­ the envelope will still play in a forward direction (attack is still attack, release is still release, etc. ) but the Pitch will be modulated in the opposite direction from a non-inverted (normal) envelope. DM PRO REFERENCE MANUAL 83 Programming Drums THE FILTER FUNCTION The Filter Function determines the brightness of an individual Sound by controlling the low pass filter attached to each of the 64 DM Pro Voices. The low pass filter affects a Sound's harmonic content by progressively attenuating high frequencies above the specified "Cutoff Frequency". The higher frequencies are filtered, while the lower frequencies are allowed to "pass through", hence the term "low pass filter". When the Cutoff Frequency is set to a high Value, the sound remains bright; when set to a low Value, the sound becomes darker since fewer harmonics are present. The DM Pro Filter cuts, or "rolls off" high frequencies in the amount of 6dB per octave. For example, if the Cutoff Frequency is set to begin the high frequency rolloff at 5kHz, 10kHz would be 6dB softer than 5kHz, and 20kHz would be 12dB softer than 5kHz. Note that the Filter is subtractive only ­ it cannot boost high frequencies. Cutoff Frequency Frequency Response Curve Filter Amplitude Frequency 00 99 The cutoff parameter changes the frequency at which the highfrequency response starts to roll off. [. . . ] To change Pages, move the cursor beneath the Parameter name and turn the Value encoder. The organizational term for a part of the DM Pro software that conducts a specific task. For example, the Drum Volume Parameter controls the level of a Drum, and the Filter Cutoff Parameter controls the brightness of a Drum Voice. For example, the Drum Volume Parameter is contained within the DM Pro Mix Function, and the Filter Cutoff Parameter is contained within the Filter Function. [. . . ]